Associated Press

Rome, February 28:

Defending champion AC Milan ended Inter Milan’s 25-match unbeaten streak and possibly its derby rival’s title hopes in a 1-0 victory at San Siro stadium on Sunday. Brazilian Kaka deflected a drive by teammate Ivan Gattuso off a corner kick in the 74th minute to give AC Milan a prestigious win and first place in the Serie A standings, in a tie with Juventus. Juventus downed Siena 3-0 at Stadio Delle Alpi to compile 57 points in the table. In a perfect balance of power, AC Milan equalled Juventus’ points, the record of 17-6-3, and the goals differential as well. Inter’s first loss this season after 26 rounds left it 14 points behind the leading duo, in fourth place. At Turin, Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero scored with a spectacular heel deflection and converted a second-half penalty to lead his team over lowly Siena.

Del Piero opened the scoring in the 35th minute. He got his ninth goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 63rd after Brazilian teammate Emerson was fouled deep in the area by Siena’s Rodrigo Taddei. Emerson headed in Juventus’ second goal in the 50th. Palermo stunned AS Roma 2-0, with Franco Brienza and Luca Toni scoring second-half goals. Palermo is tied with Udinese for fifth place with 42 points. Second-half substitute Sasa Bjelanovic scored a late goal to give Lecce a 1-0 win over visiting Messina and eighth place in the 20-team table. In other matches: last-place Atalanta fought back to clinch a 3-3 draw at Cagliari; Bologna and Livorno settled with a 0-0 draw; Lazio beat Parma 2-0 to escape the relegation zone; and Reggina downed Chievo Verona 1-0 on a curled free kick by Japan’s Shunsuke Nakamura.

Spanish La Liga

MADRID: Valencia rallied to beat Real Betis 2-1 in the Spanish league ending the team’s six-match winless streak and providing new coach Antonio Lopez with an encouraging start.

Betis midfielder Marcos Assuncao opened the scoring in the 13th minute but the defending champion fought back on goals by Spanish international Ruben Baraja in the 29th and striker Miguel Angel “Mista” Ferrer in the 72nd. Betis’ defeat at Mestalla Stadium ended its six-game unbeaten run and dropped it to fifth place behind crosstown rival Sevilla, which drew 2-2 with visiting Racing Santander on Sunday, and Valencia. Also, Zaragoza downed Villarreal 1-0, Osasuna slumped to a 6-1 defeat against visiting Malaga, and Atletico Madrid edged Real Sociedad 1-0. FC Barcelona leads the league with 58 points, followed by Real Madrid with 50. Sevilla is third with 42 points, one more than Valencia, Betis and Espanyol. Villarreal is next with 40.